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3/20/12

The Trouble With NH's Uniform Trust Code

NH estate planning attorneys Jan Myskowski and Marla Matthews write in the New Hampshire Bar Newsabout changes to the state's Uniform Trust Code intended to clarify the rights of beneficiaries and duties of trustees, and opportunities in the code that (in the wrong hands) could undermine the intentions of the grantor who established the trust. Say the authors:

"... Along with trust advisors and protectors came the concepts of the "excluded fiduciary" and the "directed trust." New Hampshire’s version of the UTC now allows for a dizzying array of fiduciaries having very disparate authorities and duties with respect to a single trust. See the provisions of RSA 546-B:1-103(23) ("Directed Trusts"), (24) ("Excluded Fiduciary"), (27) ("Trust Advisor"), (28) ("Trust Protector"), and RSA 564-B:7-711, (further defining the effect of the power to direct a fiduciary). Each of these fiduciaries (trustee, trust advisor, trust protector) will have a narrow sphere of responsibility, and may be subject to taking direction from one or more other fiduciaries, or even from beneficiaries, and to the extent they are subject to such direction, may be insulated from liability for acts falling even within their scope of authority."